❖ Iʿtikāf for Men and Women is Only in the Mosque ❖
Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
Question:
Is iʿtikāf legislated only in the mosque?
Answer:
The iʿtikāf of both men and women is valid only in the mosque. There is no evidence in the Qur’an or Sunnah for iʿtikāf in the home, nor is there any precedent for it among the Salaf.
❀ Allah ﷻ says:
﴿وَأَنْتُمْ عَاكِفُونَ فِي الْمَسَاجِدِ﴾
(Al-Baqarah: 187)
“While you are observing iʿtikāf in the mosques.”
❀ Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله (d. 728H) said:
الاعتكاف من العبادات المشروعة بالمساجد باتفاق الأئمة.
“Iʿtikāf is among those acts of worship that are legislated to be performed in the mosques, by consensus of the Imams.”
(Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm 2/356)
Conclusion:Iʿtikāf, whether by men or women, is only valid in the mosque. Performing iʿtikāf at home has no basis in the Qur’an, Sunnah, or the practice of the Salaf.
